10 Video Games That Secretly Change Without You Noticing
5. Spreading Infection - Prototype (2009)
Despite having some of the most satisfying traversal and combat mechanics of the seventh console generation, Prototype has since become a forgotten gem from a golden era of gaming.
The plot follows Alex Mercer, an amnesiac who discovers that they have shapeshifting powers when they wake up in a morgue at the start of the game. With the strange Blacklight infection taking over New York City, it's down to Alex to figure out how he fits into all of this while finding a way to stop the outbreak.
Whenever players aren't transforming Alex's limbs into grotesque bladed weapons to slice through mutated creatures, they'll be leaping over buildings, absorbing soldiers' identities to sneak into military ases, and stealing helicopters and tanks to cause as much chaos as possible. Although the story wasn't particularly groundbreaking, the moment-to-moment gameplay was an absolute blast.
Players may have been so distracted causing city-wide destruction, however, that they may not have noticed the infection steadily spreading across the course of the narrative. What begins as a small quarantine zone quickly expands, transforming most of the city into an apocalyptic hellscape.
Alongside its sequel, Prototype doesn't get the adoration today that it deserves.